November is National Adoption Month so a blog post has been on my "to do" list for over a month. I told Shawn today that I hate writing again that we have no news but life does happen while we are waiting. I also know our friends and family want updates but are sometimes hesitant to ask.
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| Scottsdale Farm |
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| This is the "city" kind of pumpkin patch. Actually, it was perfect for a rainy day. |
So although we don't have much to update you with on the adoption front, we do have a few life updates. In September we moved 10 miles north into a gorgeous 4 bedroom house. When we found this house we thought it was pretty close to our apartment but we've quickly learned that this is a completely different area with it's own little community feel. We live on a single street "subdivision" with 19 houses and we have what seems like to us, a giant backyard, complete with 4 pear trees and a fig tree. There are kids across the street and next door and Avery is loving it. The little boy next door is 5 and he and Avery hit it off the first day they met. One day a few weeks ago, she was in the backyard and he was in his backyard. The two of them talked to each other through the fence and the next thing we knew she was flying out the front door yelling, "I'm going to Keagan's!"
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| We've had fun going to estate sales to find pieces, like this table, for our house. |
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| Avery on the swingset that her daddy lovingly spent hours building. |
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| Discovering we have a fig tree in the backyard. |
Shawn also started a new job on October 16th. He had been looking for a while and was starting to get burned out on the daily grind of an assistant principal. He is now working for the Georgia Department of Education as a School Effectiveness Specialist. He has been shadowing his colleagues for a few weeks and it's been eye opening. They are working with schools that are in danger of being taken over by the state and their job is to work on strategies and plans to improve the schools and "get them off the list." It's been a huge adjustment, but in a good way. I was used to Shawn leaving at 7AM and not getting home until at least 6PM but now his office is at home and he does site visits to the schools and meets with his team about once a week. He also works from home most Fridays. It's been less than a month but I have a husband who is not stressed out and Avery has a daddy who is a lot more happy.
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| Friday field trip to Brasstown Bald - Highest Mt. in GA |
When we moved in to our new house we hung our Adoption Fundraiser map right behind my desk so I can look at it everyday and dream about where our baby may be coming from. We've had several more generous donations to our fundraiser and we so appreciate everyone who is sticking with us, thinking of us and praying for our family during "the wait."
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| Friday field trip to Ponce City Market |
So, let's see...on the adoption front...Our agent called us in September to ask if we would like to be presented to a potential birthmother who was due in January, gender unknown, no drugs, no alcohol, wanted an open adoption, from a state within a days driving distance, birthfather was not in the picture at all and lawyer fees would be potentially higher than average. To us this sounded too good to be true so we gave a resounding, "yes!" So for the next few days, we were hopeful but trying not to get our hopes up. That's a pretty impossible situation - of course we were hoping she would pick us, but...she didn't. That, my friends, is why they say the adoption journey is a roller coaster.
When we moved in to our new house, we had to update our homestudy. So that meant a visit from our social worker, Whitney. She has a daughter close to Avery's age so she totally knows what to talk to Avery about and Avery eats it up. Avery couldn't wait to give her the house tour and show off the future baby's room and of course her awesome bedroom that she thinks is bigger than the master bedroom.
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| Avery has a new smile! |
Once we got her updated report we mailed that off to our agency. I called our agency to ask them to let us know when they got it and ended up asking a ton of questions that of course we didn't think to ask 18 months ago when we were eagerly jumping in to the process. I left that phone call feeling frustrated but also reassured that they are still working to promote us and show our profile. Believe me, when no one has chosen you for 18 months, you start questioning everything. We know that they can't make a match happen and that we have to trust that when it is the right time, we will "click" with the right birthmother. We are hoping and praying every day for a precious baby that needs a loving home. I'm pretty sure that when that happens, I'll be buying every item on Etsy that says, "Worth the wait."
